TCP/IP DOS Utilities

Previous:    Setting up your Workstation as a File Server Next:    Appendix: Error Messages

Operating Your PC Workstation Remotely

Running the XPC utility on your workstation lets your workstation function as an XPC server. You can then use TELNET to access your workstation from a remote host. If you are accessing your workstation from a location away from your office, you might need to use a modem and dial in to the UNIX host with which your workstation is networked.

Once you access your workstation, you can run DOS programs on your workstation from the remote terminal just as if you were using a terminal directly connected to your workstation. While you operate your workstation remotely, XPC dynamically updates your remote terminal display to match the display at your workstation. The VT220 keyboard substitutes for the workstation keyboard, and the information displayed on the workstation screen by the DOS program is displayed simultaneously on your terminal screen. The only differences between the remote and local operations are the methods you use to enter PC-specific keystrokes, such as <Ctrl> and <Alt> key sequences.

Operating an XPC Workstation

In addition to accessing your own workstation, you can access and operate other workstations that are running the XPC utility. This feature enables you to run a DOS program that resides only on another PC workstation.

If you are a system administrator, you can use XPC for troubleshooting problems on workstations connected to the network that you administer. When a user asks you to fix a problem with a workstation, you can tell the user to run XPC so that you can access the workstation from your terminal to diagnose and resolve the problems.

XPC enables you to

• Let someone else operate your workstation from another workstation or host
• Operate a PC workstation from another workstation or host
• Map XPC screen and keyboard characters to your remote terminal
• Set the user-defined control keys on the remote terminal to simulate <Ctrl> and <Alt> functions on your workstation
• Compile mapfiles so that XPC can reference them
• Specify XPC character sets, fonts, and prompts

XPC has three important limitations:

• XPC allows you to run only character-based DOS applications, such as LAN WorkPlace DOS applications and the NetWare utilities. You cannot run graphics applications or graphical user interfaces such as MS Windows or LAN WorkPlace Windows applications.
• VT100 terminals that connect to XPC do not support international characters. If your application uses international characters, use a VT220-compatible terminal or an X terminal.
• XPC does not support mouse input. XPC only allows keyboard input to DOS applications.

Running XPC on Your Workstation

XPC [ -C ] [ -H|-? ] [ -Q ] [ -S ] [ -U ]

The following table describes the options you can include with the XPC command.

XPC Utility Options

Options	Description
-C	This option loads XPC using conventional memory only.
-H | -?	This option displays command-line options.
-Q	This option displays the XPC status (for example, "active," "not loaded," or "suspended."
-S	This option enables you to define special key sequences for control characters. When you include this option, XPC prompts you to define the system control character, the key sequence to simulate <Alt>, and the key sequence to simulate <Ctrl>.
-U	This option unloads XPC if it is active.

Starting XPC from DOS

The password you enter prevents unauthorized remote users from connecting to your workstation. When a remote terminal connects to your workstation, the remote user is prompted to enter the password you specify. You can include any combination of alphanumeric characters in this password.

Follow these steps to run the XPC utility:

1. At the DOS prompt, type the XPC command in the following format:
   

   XPC [ -C ] [ -S ]
   

   The XPC program prompts you for a password.

2. Type the password and press <Enter>.

   If the XPC program loads properly, it displays the following message:

   XPC loaded successfully.
   

Remote users can now use TELNET or an X server to connect to your workstation and log into XPC.

Loading XPC in Conventional

If you have EMM 3.0 or later, you can override this default and run XPC in conventional memory by using the -C command-line option:

XPC -C <Enter>

If you have EMM 3.0 or later installed on your XPC workstation, the XPC utility uses 13 KB of available conventional memory. If you do not have EMM installed, XPC requires 59 KB of conventional memory space.

Displaying Help Information

XPC -H <Enter>XPC -? <Enter>

This option displays information for all XPC command-line options plus basic operating instructions. It does not load the XPC program into memory.

Determining XPC Status

XPC -Q <Enter>

After you enter this command, the XPC utility displays one of the following messages:

XPC is aliveXPC is not loadedXPC is suspended

The XPC is alive message indicates that XPC is resident in memory and is ready to accept client connections.

The XPC is not loaded message indicates that XPC is not resident in memory. The XPC -Q command does not load XPC into memory; it only queries for XPC status.

The XPC is suspended message indicates a conflict between the XPC program and another TSR program subsequently loaded into memory. This conflict prevents XPC from executing. To use XPC, restart your workstation and reload XPC.

Terminating XPC

XPC -U <Enter>

If a remote client is connected to XPC when you enter this command, XPC immediately displays a session-closed message on the client's remote terminal and closes the remote session. Any data that the remote client has not saved is lost.

Starting a Remote XPC Session

1. Start TELNET.

   When XPC prompts you for information, respond quickly. If you do not respond within a few seconds, XPC terminates the connection. If this happens, you can reestablish the connection by repeating the connection procedure from Step 1.

   1. From a VT100/VT220 terminal or X terminal, type the following command:

      telnet hostname <Enter>
      

   2. From a DOS workstation, type the following command:

      TNVT220 hostname <Enter>
      

      Replace hostname with the hostname or IP address that identifies the workstation running XPC.

      XPC responds by displaying a list of available character sets for the remote terminal.

2. Enter the number of the character set used by your terminal.

   XPC selects option 1 if you press <Enter> without typing a number.

   Next XPC prompts you to type the password specified by the person that loaded XPC on the workstation.

3. Type the password, and press <Enter>.

   After XPC verifies the password, XPC prompts you for your terminal type.

4. Type 1 for VT100, VT220, or a workstation running TNVT220; type 2 for an X terminal or server.

   If you are using a VT100/VT220 terminal and emulator, you have completed the connection. XPC displays information about accessing keyboard help information on your remote terminal, followed by the DOS prompt. You can skip the remaining steps in this procedure.

   If you are using an X terminal, XPC prompts for more information:

   Do you have more than one display (1=yes, 2=no)[2]:
   

5. Type 1 if you want the remote TELNET session to open an XPC window on an X-terminal display other than the default display.

   If you indicate that you have more than one display, you are prompted to supply the display and screen numbers.

   In X Window System* terminology, a display is a monitor with its own attached keyboard. For example, if you have two monitors attached to a computer, and each monitor has its own keyboard, you have two displays. This is the situation for the two monitors on the right side of the figure below. You could also have two physical monitors linked with one mouse. This is the situation for the two monitors on the left side of the figure below. (In this situation, the left-most display is showing an extension of the center display. Normally, the user would have to scroll over or zoom out to see this information on a single terminal. In this case, it is like having a very large monitor.)

6. Enter the display number for the XPC display.

   A prompt for the screen number appears:

   Enter screen number [0]:
   

7. Enter the screen number for the XPC display.

   Example of X Window Displays and Screens:

   

   When you establish a connection, XPC displays information about accessing keyboard help information, followed by a DOS prompt.

Closing the Remote Connection

Type <Ctrl>+<x>.

Press <q>.

Using the Remote Keyboard

You can change three of these key sequences when you log in to XPC: the <Ctrl> key sequence, the <Alt> key sequence, and the general-purpose key sequence that you can use to simulate any of the specialized PC keys. When you first log in to XPC, XPC displays instructions for accessing information on these key sequences. The default values are as follows:

Press <Ctrl>+<D> on your remote keyboard to simulate pressing the <Ctrl> key on the PC keyboard.

Press <Ctrl>+<A> on your remote keyboard to simulate pressing the <Alt> key on the PC keyboard.

Press <Ctrl>+<x> on your remote keyboard to simulate pressing the PC function keys, arrow keys, and edit keys.

You can change the default <Alt> and <Ctrl> key simulation sequences and set the system control character by running XPC with the -S option. When you include the -S option, XPC prompts you to type a control character for each of these sequences.

The following table lists the general-purpose key sequences that XPC uses.

XPC General Purpose Key Sequences

Key Sequence	Description
<Ctrl>+<x> then <q>	Quits a remote XPC session.
<Ctrl>+<x> then <?>	Displays help information during a remote session.

 

This table summarizes the default keystrokes used to simulate PC keys from the supported remote terminals.

XPC Key Mapping Summary

The following sections explain how to use special key sequences from different terminal types during an XPC session.

Using an X-Terminal Keyboard

If you want to use the X terminal <Alt> to substitute for the PC keyboard Alt key, use the X utility xmodmap to enable this key on the X server. You can add either the left Alt key (Alt_L) or the right Alt key (Alt_R) to any of five key modifier names (Mod1 through Mod5) in the modifier key map.

For example, to activate the left Alt key for use with XPC, enter the following command on your X server:

xmodmap -e "add Mod1 = Alt_L"

You can also use the VT100 and VT220 special key sequences discussed in the following section from an X terminal keyboard.

Using a VT100 or VT220 Keyboard

For example, if the DOS application calls for you to press <Alt>+<A>, follow these steps:

1. Press <Ctrl>+<A>.
2. Press <A>.

Because most of the control keys on VT100 and VT220 terminals are reserved, you can also use a control sequence to simulate the PC <Ctrl>. The default sequence is <Ctrl>+<D>.

For example, if the DOS application calls for you to press <Ctrl>+<x>, follow these steps:

1. Press <Ctrl>+<D>.
2. Press <x>.

The general-purpose control key can be used to simulate <Ctrl>, <Alt>, and <Shift> key sequences. The default general-purpose control sequence is <Ctrl>+<x>. This sequence is also used to simulate function keys and edit keys on VT100 terminals.

The following table lists the general purpose key sequences for the <Alt>, <Ctrl>, and <Shift> keys.

XPC General Purpose Key Sequences

To simulate this PC key:	Press these keys:
<Alt>	<Ctrl>+<x> <A>
<Ctrl>	<Ctrl>+<x>< C>
<Shift>	<Ctrl>+<x> <S>

THis table shows how you can combine general-purpose key sequences with other keys for special functions.

XPC General Purpose Key Sequences Used with Special Functions

This table shows how you can simulate PC edit and function keys from a VT100 terminal.

VT100 General-Purpose Key Sequences Used for PC Edit Keys

VT100 terminals do not support simulation of the <F11> and <F12> function keys.

Mapping XPC Screen and Keyboard Characters

The XPC server can display graphic characters from the IBM PC character set that are not available on remote terminals. In this case, the double-box graphic characters from the XPC server are translated into single-box graphic characters available in the VT220 character set, resulting in a good simulation of the workstation screen display.

The same approach is used to map national character sets between the XPC server and the remote terminal. The screen mapping files establish the correspondence between PC characters and remote terminal characters.

XPC screen mapping files are used to process both the characters input to the XPC server from the remote terminal and the characters output from the XPC server for display on the remote terminal screen.

Translating Your Remote Keystrokes

In addition to character codes, DOS and DOS applications require keyboard scan codes to respond as if you pressed keys on the PC workstation. XPC uses a second file, the scan code mapping file, to determine which PC keyboard scan code corresponds to the DOS character code. XPC then supplies DOS or the DOS application with both the character and the scan code, just as if you pressed a key on the PC keyboard.

This figure illustrates the input translation process:

Translating Output from a PC Workstation

The figure below illustrates the following translation process:

A remote client using TNVT220 types a capital A-umlaut (ä) character by pressing a key on the remote numeric keypad.

This sends Multinational code 196 to XPC.

XPC checks the screen mapping file for character index 196. This index corresponds to PC character 142, the _ character (which is a physical key on its German PC keyboard).

The screen mapping file, 437-MLT.TXT, used in the above search, maps code page 437 on the XPC server to the Multinational Terminal character set on the remote terminal. It contains the following line to accomplish the _ key mapping: /196 = /113g,/142

XPC searches the SCANCODE.TXT file for PC character code 142 to determine the scan code for the shifted _ key.

Because a U.S. keyboard does not have an _ key, the scan code for the _ character in the default SCANCODE.TXT file is 0.

A German keyboard does have an _ key, and its scan code for the _ character is 41. The associated entry in the SCANCODE.TXT file configured for a German keyboard is the following: /142 = /41/0

XPC passes character code 142 and scan code 41 to the DOS application.

The application interprets this input to mean that the shifted _ key has been pressed. It responds by displaying _ on the XPC server screen.

XPC refers to the screen mapping file to determine what character code to send to the remote terminal.

The _ character (code 142) maps to Multinational character 196 on your remote terminal. XPC sends character 196 to the remote terminal. /142 = /196 /32

The screen on the remote terminal displays the A-umlaut (Ä).

XPC Character Mapping Process:

Working with XPC Screen Mapping Files

A set of mapping files for commonly used combinations of these three elements is provided in the \NET\HSTACC directory. You can modify these files to accommodate local configurations.

The first three digits of the screen mapping filenames identify the XPC server code pages being mapped to remote terminal character sets. The code pages mapped by the files provided are as follows:

• 437 - Standard U.S.
• 850 - ISO LatinI
• 860 - Portuguese
• 863 - Canadian-French
• 865 - Nordic

The names of compiled screen mapping files stored in the \NET\HSTACC directory follow a naming convention that identifies both the workstation code page number and the remote terminal character set. XPC uses this convention to determine which screen mapping file to use from information you supply about the remote terminal type. See "Character Set Name and Description" on page 8-32 for details of how XPC uses the PROMPTS.TXT file to make this determination.

Once you create a screen mapping file using a text editor, you must compile it so XPC can read and understand the mapping. You can compile screen mapping files with the SMAP utility.

XPC Screen Mapping File Structure

Each screen mapping file includes one line for each ASCII character and supplemental code. Each line contains three parts:

The decimal character code from the code page being mapped, preceded by a slash (/) and followed by an equal sign (=)

The corresponding decimal display character code for the remote terminal, also preceded by a slash, and optionally followed by a special character to designate a graphics character set

The corresponding decimal keypress code for this character which the remote terminal sends to the XPC server, preceded by a slash

The following figure illustrates the structure of a screen mapping file. It shows how the letter _ (PC character code 196) is mapped to a remote terminal that uses code 113g to represent the letter _ and has an _ key (German keyboard) that generates code 142.

The index character code (196 or _ ) is the PC character code for _ from the code page mapped by this screen mapping file.

XPC uses the index character code in two ways:

When it receives a keypress code from the remote terminal, XPC finds that code in the first column (Index Character Code), then sends the DOS application the code in the third column (key character code).

When a character is displayed on the XPC server screen (_ in this example), XPC finds that code in the first column, then sends the remote terminal the code in the second column.

The character displayed on the remote terminal (113g) is the character code XPC sends to the remote terminal when the character _ (196) appears on the XPC server screen.

The key sent to XPC (142) is the keypress code produced by the remote terminal keyboard when index character 196 (the corresponding character on the remote terminal) is typed.

Valid Symbols for Screen Mapping Files

Special Characters Used in XPC Screen Mapping Files

Special Character	Description
#	Comment lines can be included in the file with the # character. Everything after the # sign on the line is ignored by the SMAP compiler.
/	The / character must precede each decimal number in the mapping tables.
=	The = character must follow the first number in a mapping line.
g	This character can be used in a VT220 screen translation so the VT220 Special Graphics Character Set is loaded to display a graphics character. The special graphics characters have codes 0 through 127 inclusive, followed by the letter g. For example, the following mapping line appears in the file 437-MLT.TXT, which maps code page 437 to the VT220 Multinational character set:  /179 = /120g /168  Code page 437 character 179 is a graphics character (a vertical line). The standard Multinational Character Set does not include graphics characters. The graphics characters are located in another character set, named the Special Graphics Character Set.  The (g) following remote character 120 means that when character 179 is displayed on the XPC server, character 120 in the Special Graphics Character Set, a vertical bar, should be displayed on the remote terminal screen.
h	This character is the same as the (g) character but specifies that the Special Graphics Character Set should be loaded high over the European characters in the Multinational Character Set.  A remote VT220 terminal allows two character sets to be loaded at once. The Multinational Character Set consists of two parts: a lower character set (standard characters) and an upper character set (European characters). The (h) specifies that the Special Graphics Character Set should replace the upper character set (European characters) of the Multinational character set.  If you do not plan to use European characters, you can improve XPC's performance by using (h) instead of (g). The use of (h) allows the Special Graphics Character Set to stay loaded so that no character-set swapping has to occur.
, (comma)	Commas are optional separators. For example, the following two lines provide the same mapping instructions: /1 = /0 /0  /1 = /0, /0

 

Modifying Screen Mapping Files

1. Load the screen mapping file that you want to modify into an editor.

   Choose the supplied screen mapping file that is closest to your configuration. For example, if the XPC server has code page 437 loaded, and the remote terminal (XPC client) is a VT100 or VT220 using the Multinational or North American Terminal 8-bit Character Set (Decimal), you must modify the 437-MLT.TXT file.

2. Look down the left column until you find the index code that corresponds to the character code produced by the remote terminal key.

   For example, if pressing the remote terminal key types a period (.), character 46, find /46 in the left column. In the 437-MLT.TXT file this line is as follows:

   /46 = /46 /46
   

3. Modify the third column of the current line so that the third decimal code is the code produced by the remote terminal keypress you are remapping.

   Continuing the example, if the period key on your remote terminal sends code 44, you would change the line to the following: /46 = /46 /44

4. Save the mapping file.

Use the following procedure to change the mapping of a character displayed on a remote client:

1. Load the screen mapping file you want to modify into an editor.

2. Look down the left column until you find the correct decimal value in the XPC server's character set for the character you want to remap from the workstation screen to the remote client screen.

   For example, if your remote terminal is displaying the pound sterling sign instead of the pound sign (#), find the line for # (character 35). In 437-MLT.TXT this line is as follows: /35 = /35 /35

3. Modify the second (middle) column of the current line so that the second decimal character code is the character you want displayed on the remote client screen when the index character in the left column is displayed on the XPC server's screen.

   Continuing the example, if your remote terminal uses code 163 to display the pound sign, change the line to the following: /35 = /163 /35

4. Save the mapping file.

Working with the Scan Code File

A key pressed on a PC keyboard is represented both by a character code and by a scan code that the keyboard generates and sends to the PC when the key is pressed. When you press a key on the remote terminal keyboard, XPC first translates the code generated by that key into the character code that its corresponding PC key would generate. XPC then needs to determine the scan code for the PC key that corresponds to the PC character so that it can simulate pressing a key on the XPC server's keyboard.

The scan code file associates the PC character codes with the scan codes produced by the XPC server keyboard. The standard SCANCODE.TXT file has scan codes for the U.S. keyboard.

The scan codes vary depending on the type of keyboard attached to the XPC server. Various national keyboards have different key layouts that enable you to type various national characters. For example, an XPC server with a German keyboard must change the standard scan code table to include the A-umlaut character (_ ), because the German keyboard has a key (and therefore a scan code) for typing this character. (The U.S. keyboard does not have this character.)

The following figure is an example of a scan code file entry. It shows how the scan codes are defined for the letter a (PC code 97), which has scan code 30 on a U.S. PC keyboard.

The PC character code (97) is the PC code for the character you type (the letter a).

The first scan code (30) is used in conjunction with the PC character code to simulate a keypress on the XPC server's keyboard.

The scan code is 0 if the key is not present on the XPC server's keyboard. For example, the _ character has a scan code of 0 for an XPC server with a U.S. keyboard.

The second scan code (30) is generated when you hold down <Alt> and press the given key (97).

On a remote X terminal, you press <Alt>+<A>; on a VT100 or VT220 terminal or emulator, you press the special control key followed by <A>. (See "Using a VT100 or VT220 Keyboard" for information on simulating <Ctrl> and <Alt> from remote terminals.)

<Alt> scan codes are specified because the PC keyboard generates different scan codes for some keys when they are pressed with <Alt>. (Pressing a key with <Ctrl> produces the same scan code as pressing the key by itself.)

The following example describes how to change the scan code table for a German keyboard.

The PC code for capital A-umlaut (Ä) in code page 437 is 142. The scan code for _ needs to be changed in the SCANCODE.TXT file because the German keyboard has an _ key.

Initially, the scan code line for _ is as follows:

/142 = /0 /0

If the scan code for _ is the decimal number 41 for a German keyboard, the above line should be changed as follows:

/142 = /41 /0

Note that to define this key completely, you would also need to modify the scan code for the unshifted _ key (the ä character, PC code 132, which has scan code 40 on the standard German keyboard). Other changes would also be necessary to accommodate additional German keyboard differences.

The scan code file needs to be changed only for European keyboards attached to the XPC server. The SCANCODE.TXT file has no effect on keyboards attached to remote clients. The screen mapping file translates the keystrokes from the remote client.

Compiling XPC Map Files with the SMAP Utility

The SMAP compiler names the output file by replacing the .TXT extension of the input file with a .MAP extension for the output file.

To use SMAP, specify the input filename and extension on the command line:

SMAP filename.ext <Enter>

The following example reads the file 437-TEST.TXT and creates a file called 437-TEST.MAP that can be used as a screen translation file for an XPC session.

SMAP 437-TEST.TXT <Enter>

You can include the -? command-line option to list the SMAP command-line options.

XPC Remote Character Sets and Prompts

The PROMPTS.TXT file is located in the \NET\HSTACC directory. A sample copy is provided in the \NET\SAMPLE directory. This example shows the contents of the default PROMPTS.TXT file:

Enter the number of the desired character set [1]:
-mlt.map
  Multinational (VT100/VT220 only)
  fixed
  Password:
  Enter your terminal type|(1= VT100/VT220, 2= X-terminal)[1]:
  Do you have more than one display(1=yes, 2=no)[2]:
  Enter display number [0]:
  Enter screen number [0]:
  Active X-Session in progress!| Do you want to kill it?   (1=no, 2=yes)[1] 
  Killing X-Session! Please Wait... 
  XPC Session Closed! 
  Invalid password.| 
  Sorry, XPC is busy with another session.|
  Cannot load emulator!|Xhosts not enabled or connection corrupted.| 
  Session setup failed, check terminal type.|
  Fonts in `fonts.txt' are not present on this X-terminal!| 
-iso.map 
  ISO-Latin I (X or VT100/VT220).
  courB12 
  password:
  Enter your terminal type|(1= VT100/VT220, 2= X-terminal)[1]:
  Do you have more than one display(1=yes, 2=no)[2]:
  Enter display number [0]:
  Enter screen number [0]:
  | Active X-Session in progress!| Do you want to kill it? (1=no, 2=yes)[1] 
  Killing X-Session! Please Wait... 
  XPC Session Closed!
  Invalid password 
  Sorry, XPC is busy with another session.| 
  Cannot load emulator!|Xhosts not enabled or connection corrupted.|
  Session setup failed, check terminal type.| 
  Fonts in `fonts.txt' are not present on this X-terminal!|
-fix.map 
  Fixed X font (X only). 
  fixed 
  Password: 
  Enter your terminal type|(1= VT100/VT220, 2= X-terminal)[1]: 
  Do you have more than one display(1=yes, 2=no)[2]: 
  Enter display number [0]: 
  Enter screen number [0]: 
  | Active X-Session in progress!| Do you want to kill it? (1=no, 2=yes)[1]

The PROMPTS.TXT file lists the names of character sets that remote users can use with the XPC program (Multinational, ISO-Latin I, and Fixed X). If you have configured screen mapping files for other character sets, add information about those character sets to PROMPTS.TXT to allow people to select them. The file contains messages asking the remote user to choose a character set. It also contains the following information for each character set:

• The name of the character set
• A description of the character set
• The default font name
• Initial prompts
• An exit message
• Error messages

Note: A remote user who connects to XPC might be using a different character set from the character set used on the XPC server. For this reason, the prompts and error messages associated with a character set can be modified by the user.

PROMPTS.TXT File Structure

Each character set entry must be exactly 16 lines, not counting comment lines. Each message can only be one line long. The | character must be used if part of a message needs to be displayed on the next line on the remote screen.

Example 8-2 displays the format of the PROMPTS.TXT entry for a character set.

PROMPTS.TXT File Format

-set.map
   character set description
   default font name
   prompt to enter the password
   prompt to enter terminal type|(1= VT100/VT220, 2= X-Terminal)[1]:
   prompt whether user has more than one display (1=yes, 2=no)[2]:
   prompt to enter display number [0]:
   prompt to enter screen number [0]:
   prompt whether to terminate active X-session (1=no, 2=yes)[1]:
   message to display while X-session is being terminated 
   message indicating XPC session has been closed
   message displayed for incorrect password |
   message displayed if XPC is busy with another session |
   message displayed if emulator cannot be loaded |
   message displayed for unsuccessful session setup |
   message displayed if X-terminal lacks FONTS.TXT fonts |

The sections that follow describe the type of information required for each line.

Character Set Name and Description

After the 3-digit code page number, a screen mapping filename has a dash, followed by a 3- or 4-digit character set identifier. XPC matches these identifiers to the character set names in PROMPTS.TXT to determine which group of prompts to display for the remote client.

When a remote user first connects to XPC, XPC displays a menu of all the character set descriptions (line 2 of each entry) from the PROMPTS.TXT file. The remote user then chooses the character set in use on the remote terminal. By combining this information with the number of the code page loaded on the XPC server, XPC can determine the name of the screen mapping file to use.

For example, if the XPC server is using code page 437 and the user chooses the Multinational Character Set, the PROMPTS.TXT entries under -mlt.map are used. The resulting screen mapping file becomes 437-MLT.MAP, and the XPC utility uses the 437-MLT.MAP file for screen and key translations from the remote terminal.

If you add a new character set type, you must define a 3- or 4-character abbreviation for the set, then edit PROMPTS.TXT and name the screen mapping files accordingly. For example, if the description of the character set is "MyCorporation Custom Terminal," the first two lines of the PROMPTS.TXT entry might be:

-myc.mapMyCorporation Custom Terminal

Your screen mapping file, if you use code page 437, would be 437-MYC.MAP.

Default Font Name

The default font name must be specified for all character sets. A VT100 or VT220 set can use the default font name `None' (because each character set entry must have sixteen lines).

A remote X terminal initially tries to use the default font when it connects to XPC. If that font is not available, XPC searches for a font specified in the FONTS.TXT file. FONTS.TXT is a text file that lists the fonts available on your X terminals, one to a line, in the order in which you want XPC to search for them. You can use this file to list all compatible X-terminal fonts at your site. XPC uses the first available font from the list. FONTS.TXT is stored in the \NET\HSTACC directory.

For best results with XPC, specify only X-terminal fonts that include all of the displayable ASCII characters, such as the Release 3 fonts.

The default FONTS.TXT file contains the following:

fixedcourB12a14

If you see the following message, your X terminal does not contain any of the fonts listed in FONTS.TXT:

Fonts in `fonts.txt' are not preset on this X terminal.

To add a font available on your X terminal so that it can be used with XPC, you must edit the FONTS.TXT file and add the font as in the following example (you add a line and type the name of your X-terminal font in place of myXfont):

fixedcourBIZal4myXfont

For best results, use a font that includes all displayable ASCII characters (such as the Release 3 fonts). You can add as many fonts to the list as are necessary to support your X terminals.

Prompts and Messages

Several of the prompts request that you enter a number to select from the available choices. You cannot change the meanings of the responses, only the text of the prompts. You cannot define additional choices. Regardless of the text you define, the expected responses and the choices they select remain as defined in the descriptions below.

The prompts and messages are as follows (text in the square brackets indicates the default):

prompt to enter the password

This text is displayed when the remote user first connects to XPC. It requests entry of the password established when XPC was started on the server.

prompt to enter terminal type|(1= VT100/VT220, 2= X-Terminal)[1]:

This text is displayed to request the user's terminal type. The user presses <Enter> or types 1 to indicate a VT100 or VT220 terminal, or types 2 to indicate an X terminal or server.

prompt whether user has more than one display (1=yes, 2=no)[2]:

This text is displayed only if the user has an X terminal or server. The user presses <1> if there is more than one display, or presses <2> or <Enter> if the terminal has a single display.

prompt to enter display number [0]:

This text is displayed to request the number of the display for XPC to use. For a number other than 0, the remote user types a number.

prompt to enter screen number [0]:

This text is displayed to request the number of the screen for XPC to use. For a number other than 0, the remote user types a number.

prompt whether to terminate active X-session (1=no, 2=yes)[1]:

This prompt is displayed to allow the user to confirm whether the current X session should be terminated. The user presses <Enter> to continue the session or types 2 to end the session.

message to display while X-session is being terminated

This message is displayed to inform the user that the X session is being terminated.

message indicating XPC session has been closed

This text is displayed after the remote user types <Ctrl>+<x> then <q> to end the XPC session. The user's TELNET utility usually follows with a message indicating that the TELNET session has also been closed.

The next five messages indicate errors that cause XPC to terminate its connection to the remote user. These messages should end with the line-break character (|) so that subsequent messages displayed by the remote user's TELNET utility can display on the next line of the terminal screen.

message displayed for incorrect password |

This message is displayed if the remote user types the wrong password. (The XPC server user establishes the password when the XPC program is started.)

message displayed if XPC is busy with another session |

This message is displayed if a remote client with a different terminal type is already connected to XPC. (XPC can accept a single X-terminal connection or multiple VT100/VT220 connections, but it cannot support both types of remote terminals simultaneously.)

message displayed if emulator cannot be loaded |

This message is displayed if XPC is unable to load its X-terminal or VT100/VT220 program overlay. (For X terminals, this means that xhosts is not enabled; for other terminal types, the TELNET connection is corrupted and needs to be reestablished.)

message displayed for unsuccessful session setup |

This message is displayed if the attempt to start an XPC session does not succeed.

message displayed if X-terminal lacks FONTS.TXT fonts |

This message is displayed if the X terminal does not have the default font listed in PROMPTS.TXT and also does not have any of the fonts listed in the FONTS.TXT file. (To let this user connect to XPC, find out what fonts the X terminal has and add them to FONTS.TXT.)

Top     Previous:    Setting up your Workstation as a File Server Next:    Appendix: Error Messages